


Survive, and Come Home

by StellaLuna34



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A character does die, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied bad injuries and surgeries, Love, M/M, Reunions, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Reunited lovers, Romantic Angst, Survival, but I don't go into detail, but it's not Adam or Shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 20:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15759351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellaLuna34/pseuds/StellaLuna34
Summary: After Adam's fighter plane crashes and he miraculously survives, Adam has to make the journey back to the Garrison to see Shiro again. However, it's no easy task, and Adam has to push through tough times to make it back safely.





	Survive, and Come Home

If he was being completely honest, he never expected to survive this. He thought he would have died from the blast that hit his fighter plane, or from the crash, but somehow he survived both. Pain spread like fire on his left leg and he breathed in sharply, only to inhale smoke and ash. His helmet had cracked and there was a decent hole in the orange tinted fiberglass. Adam coughed at the smell of the burning plane. His vision was hazy, and he couldn’t tell which way was up and down. Static rang in his ears from the communicators, which made his growing headache worse. 

_ Just calm down and focus _  He scolded himself.   _ You’ve got to get out of here. _

With a few more labored breaths, Adam positioned himself to push out of the smoking ship. He felt his teeth grind against one another as he clenched his jaw. His muscles screamed at him not to move, but he knew better than to listen to them; at least in this situation. The deafening hum of galra ships and their looming shadows stilled his actions. It didn’t seem like they were looking for any survivors, but he kept still until they passed. As he crawled out of the destroyed plane, his body collapsed and twitched in pain. He ripped off his helmet and laid on his back, which was the least painful position. Sharp pricks of pain felt sprinkled on his cheeks and his forehead, and when he moved his hand over the area, he felt small pieces of glass. He guessed they were from the helmet since his glasses somehow stayed in tact on his face. They were cracked and almost shattered beyond repair, but together nonetheless. With the little visibility they provided, Adam looked to his left side to inspect his injuries. His entire side, from toe to neck, was burned severely. His white garrison flight uniform was almost black and clung to his burns. Adam rested his head back down on the brown sand. His mind tried to think of logical ways to get to safety, but they dissipated as soon as they appeared. His head buzzed like static and his vision was slightly blurry, as if he were dreaming.

_ Maybe I am. _ He thought.  _ Maybe this is just a nightmare, and I’ll wake up from it. I’ll wake up and he’ll be next to me. _

Tears threatened to spill at the thought of Shiro. The past two years had felt like an empty lifetime. The announcement of the Kerberos mission felt like a distant memory. He wished it was all a dream. All this alien talk and space exploration was fascinating, but Adam was practically begging for it to be a dream. The guilt building up in his chest began to burn more than his injuries. 

_ Wishing isn’t going to anything. Unfortunately, this is all very real. Just get up. Do something. Don’t die here.  _ He sighed internally. His heavy eyelids fluttered shut as Adam tried to picture a map he had studied, and the cities marked with bright blue dots. When nothing familiar came to mind, he propped himself up with his unburned right arm. 

_ Get up. It’s not safe here. Find shelter, food, and new clothes. They’ll recognize the uniform. _

Some strength began to grow in his body as he sat up. Once he caught his breath again, he pushed himself up in a standing position. Surprisingly, his leg didn’t hurt as badly as he anticipated. With a small limp, Adam began to walk towards the smoking city he saw in the distance. There was no sign of the garrison, and he knew it’d be too much of a risk to guess which direction it was in, so the city it was. 

 

* * * *

“Son, you’re going to get yourself killed out there with that awful limp of yours.” A greying man remarked as Adam sat in a dusty, creaking chair. 

“I think this crazy luck of mine will keep me alive.” Adam replied as he began to unwrap the bandages from his leg. He had to admit, he probably shouldn’t be in an a safe house (of sorts). As slow as he was, he thought he would have definitely been captured by the galra, but something with the Garrison had them distracted and he was thankful. He was able to break into a house and change out of his charred Garrison flight suit. Afterwards, he found a group of survivors passing by. Everyone in the group seemed welcoming, but the elderly man kept his distance. At first, Adam thought he was angry and upset since he slowed them down, but there was something about the man’s empty gaze that made him think otherwise. 

“It’ll only keep you alive for so long.” The man commented as he fiddled with his silver dog tags. As Adam glanced at him, he noticed his silver chain held four dog tags, not two. Other people filtered in and out of the underground hallways they sat in, but once they were alone, the man spoke up again.

“Your from the Garrison aren’t you?” He questioned. Adam tried to hide his shock, but the man caught his eyes widening. He silently cursed at himself and tried to adjust his glasses, a nervous tick that he had. Unfortunately, he wasn’t wearing them due to their damage (How he was able to see without them was beyond him; he just kept strong reading glasses he found as a way to read).    
Adam nodded with a frown.

“Can you please keep this a secret? I don’t want word to get out and put a bigger target on our group.” Adam sighed as he continued to wrap his leg, never making eye contact with the man. 

“Don’t worry about it kid, I used to be in it too.” The man replied as he leaned against the wall. “Just make sure to make up a new name.”

Adam looked up from his wounds and to the man who held a distant gaze. 

“My son was in it too; he was a bit younger than you are. He was a mechanic and I was a doctor.” He continued. “We were trying to get to our family before the Galra attacked, but we were too late.”

“I’m sorry about your loss,” Adam replied. “But why are you telling me this? I thought you didn’t like me.”

The man ignored his question and began to walk away until Adam spoke up again.

“What’s your name?” He questioned, showing he dropped the subject.

“John.” He replied without turning to Adam. “What’s yours?”

“Adam-I mean Neil. The name’s Neil.”

John chuckled as he walked back over to Adam and helped him get to his feet.

“Well come on Neil, we’ve got to catch up with the group.”

 

* * * *

 

Adam silently thanked the stars that his group had a doctor. He only knew so much about injuries, let alone burns. His arm and chest were healing well, only leaving normal scars. His leg, however, was doing the opposite. It had gotten infected, and even though John did everything he could to keep it from spreading, it was no use. 

Adam’s heart raced as he laid down on the cot that the underground camp had. He had been staying in their “med bay” area since they noticed his infection. He knew what was coming.

John and three other men walked into the room wearing protective covering. John’s usual hazy gaze was now replaced with furrowed brows and a frown.

“I hate to break it to you kid, but we’ve got to do this. We can’t let the infection get to your bloodstream.” He said as he sat at the foot of the cot. Adam sat up and began to shake slightly, but kept a cool expression and tone.

“About time. This leg was crushed by a crash anyways. The bones are probably all messed up; I can’t even use it properly.” He joked. John huffed with a smirk and shook his head.

“You’re not wrong.” He replied. There was a pause of silence before either of them spoke up again.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the enough trained people to perform this well and there’s no anesthesia. We managed to find some good painkillers, but we don’t know how long they’ll last. If you want to do things really old fashioned, we’ve got some alcohol somewhere.” John stated as he got up. “But you will be mainly awake for it.”

Adam nodded and sighed. 

“I’ll take the painkillers.” He replied. He thought they might be the best thing for it, but as they began the procedure, he began to think being drunk during it might have been better. 

Although he was mainly numb and out of it, he could feel the nagging pain on his left leg. When he tried to move his arm in reaction to the pain, he felt it restrained by some sort of rope. He saw someone move towards him and place a thick cloth in his mouth, and he gladly bit down. Sweat soaked his brown hair as he tried to breathe evenly. Screams threatened to spill out, but he tried to keep them in as best as he could. As the pain grew and grew, Adam struggled to stay still. His heart felt as if it were going to jump out of his chest and his leg felt it was on fire. Tears fell down the side of his cheeks as a scream of agony escaped him.    
  


As his vision started to fade to black, flashes of his memories flickered like a dim candle.His heart ached at the thought of Shiro’s bright smile and how his eyes shined with life. He wondered if his actions dulled it. Traveling and space probably did too. More tears spilled at the thought of their last interaction. Seeing how his injury was doing, he probably wouldn’t see Shiro return. 

_ Maybe that’s a good thing. _ He thought to himself.  _ I’m probably the last person he’d want to see. _

As the darkness closed in on Adam, he felt as if he were drifting weightless. Although the pain still clung tight to his body, he felt a sad form of relief.

_ What’s the point of surviving this? I’m just going to be dead weight to the group. _

As he began to accept the nothingness around him, he felt a hand tug on him.

“ _ Please don’t give up. _ ” a soft, familiar voice echoed in his head. Adam felt his heart ache. 

_ You’re just in my head. _ He replied.  _ You’re just a memory from him. You’re not real. _

_ “Maybe so, but you should still listen.” _

_ I’m just hearing what I want to hear.  _ He scolded himself.

_ “I still love you. That never changed.” _

Adam felt his eyes well up with new tears and a welt developed in his throat.

_ I love you too. _ He replied.  _ But you shouldn’t. I said so many terrible things.  _

“ _ So have I. _ ”

_ But you had a right too. It was your dream. I...I should have never said anything _ .

_ “You’re my dream too, you know.” _

_ And you were mine. _

There was a pause of comforting silence. Adam felt the murky static lift from his head. As moments drifted by, he felt as if he was floating out of whatever was encasing him.

_ “Please get through this Adam. Please.” _

_ Alright Takashi, I’ll listen. _

 

* * * *

 

“Maybe you are some kind of lucky charm.” He heard John chuckle.

“Told..you..” Adam replied weakly as he sat up. Once Adam had woken up, he saw John smiling. Smiling! He thought the man didn’t have the ability to. John had caught him up on how he shouldn’t have survived the procedure due to how he was fading quickly, but nevertheless, Adam prevailed.    
As John began to give him cards for a old card game he knew, he gave Adam a soft gaze.

“Who’s Takashi?” He questioned. Adam wanted to bury his face in his pillow in sorrow. 

“Why do you ask?” He sighed.

“You kept calling his name in your sleep.”

_ Great. Nice job Adam. _ He thought.

“He is...was my fiance.” Adam admitted after a while. John nodded as he finished dealing the cards. 

“Did the galra get him?”

“No-well yes. They captured him on the Kerberos Mission. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” 

“Yeah.That was a long time ago.” The elderly man sighed. Neither of the men said anything as they played the card game. Although it seemed awkward from an outsider’s perspective, both of them were quite comfortable. Adam had grown accustomed to he man’s silence, and John had gotten used to Adam’s snarky comments. 

 

“Hey, I found something for you.” John said one day as Adam tried to balance on his only working leg. The man tossed him a dusty box. As Adam dusted it off, his eyes widened.

“If you’re really wanting to not be recognized, use it. Make sure to grow out that stumble of yours too, and be sure to dye it too.”

And Adam did. Sure enough, he barely recognized himself with longer, dark black hair and dark eyebrows. The only thing that could indicate he was Adam was if he wore his glasses, but he had thrown them out long ago. He didn’t worry too much about it, considering he was ‘Neil’ to everyone now. 

It wasn’t long before Adam got much better. He was shocked how time had flown by in the midst of all this chaos. It had been a year since his crash, and he was still shocked he had survived all of this. Unfortunately, many of his group members did not. New members would come and sadly go, but despite moving from place to place very slowly and on towards the Garrison, John still stuck with him. Adam tried to ask why he had, but the older man only stated “someone has to keep you from dying of infection or another stupid injury”. 

Adam didn’t realize how much he had enjoyed John’s company til they were ambushed. The group of survivors they stuck with were frantically trying to keep the galra robots back with the weapons they had, but it was no use. As Adam began to crawl to a good hiding area, he felt someone help him up. 

“Come on kid, I’m getting you outta here.” He heard John grumble. Adam tried to stop him and help the others, but John refused.

“They’ve already been captured. They’re going to be sent to one of those working camps, but I don’t know what they’ll do to you.”  He stated.

“You should help the ones hiding too.” Adam hissed.

“What did we agree on? I’m getting you to the Garrison whether you like it or not. I don’t care if it kills me.”

Adam wished he had never said that. He wished whatever luck was on him was also on John, but it was no use. 

Gunfire and shouts of pain rang loud in his ears as he and John limped to a worn out truck. As Adam jumped into the back of the truck, people from his group began to hotwire the truck. As they did, Adam grabbed one of their guns and began reloading. It wasn’t long before the truck hummed to life and the few surviving members climbed into the truck. 

“Come on, hop in!” Adam yelled as he aimed at the approaching robots. After he fired, he glanced down at John, who was staring back at the enemy. 

“Go. I’ll buy you guys time.” He replied. Adam nearly dropped his weapon as he grabbed the older man’s arm. 

“No, let's leave now. We can make it.” Adam stated.

“No you won’t. Even if we did, I’m not risking it.” 

“Lets go!” Adam shouted again, tugging John’s arm. John pulled his arm away and grabbed Adam’s hand. When he did, he placed something cold and metallic on Adam’s palm. 

“Just stay alive, okay?” John laughed as he bolted to the side of the enemy with a gun in hand. Fortunately, the galra fell for it and most of them began chasing him. As if on cue, the truck’s tires screeched to life and began racing away.  Adam tried to call to them to stop, but they ignored him. They held sad gazes, and Adam knew John had talked to them as well. Why was he the last to know? He guessed John knew how he’d react, but still. Adam opened his closed hand to reveal the dog tags John always wore. The names  _ John Edwards _ and  _ Hunter Edwards _ were on the tags. Adam recognized Hunter’s name. He had been in one of the first classes Adam taught. As Adam looked up from them, he watched the galra aim and fire in John’s direction. He saw John shoot back, but had no effect. Adam felt his blood go cold as he watched helplessly. His body felt sluggish and heavier as he saw John’s body collapse to the rumble that caked the city. He screamed the man’s name, but they were too far away. Adam squeezed the tags in his hand so hard his knuckles turned white. 

_ This can’t be happening; this isn’t real.  _ He told himself, but he knew he was wrong.

Even as the city began to disappear from their view, Adam still sat in the same position. Some tears fell from his cheeks, but his expression grew neutral and he never tore his gaze away from the horizon. The others assumed he was in shock and tried their best to help him out, but he was unresponsive to them. It took a few days before Adam began to move on his own, and when he did, everyone noticed John’s dog tags now hung around Adam’s neck.

 

* * * *

Eleven months seemed like years for Adam. He couldn’t believe another year had passed since his plane crash. After John’s passing, he and the others found another underground area people were hiding in. Luckily, the Garrison was close by, but it was surrounded by heavily armed galra. The area was cleared out due to the Garrison stopping by months earlier, so there were still some abandoned supplies. The original surviving group eventually dispersed. Some stuck together, but Adam stayed alone until a family stopped by. At first, they were hesitant with him, but their daughter, Sirona, somehow liked the young man’s presence. At the time, Adam still kept his distance from anyone, but the girl was persistent. To everyone’s surprise, the family helped Adam through the loss of John.

“Mr. Richardson, are you alright?” The young girl asked as she handed Adam a dry bowl of cereal.

“Just call me Neil.” Adam replied as he took the bowl. After he took some, he held it out to Sirona as a offering to share. She gladly took a handful.

“Okay Mr. Neil, are you alright?” She pressed as she tossed a few pieces in her mouth. Adam chuckled at the repeat of the question. 

“Yes, I’m alright. I’m just a little bit tired.”

“Mama says you’re going to the Garrison. That’s pretty dangerous.” She added as she rocked on her heels, making her dark brown curls move too.

“Well, I want to help out in any way I can.” Adam replied. The girl looked from him to his missing leg.

“There are other ways to help out than just fighting, you know.” He remarked as he pushed his dyed black hair out of his face. Sirona’s face scrunched a little as she looked to the window.

“Does Voltron really exist?” She questioned.

“I don’t know.” 

“Well, if it does, it needs to come faster. I’m tired of everybody hiding from those stupid aliens.” She pouted.

“I’m sure the Garrison is trying their hardest to defeat them.” Adam commented.

“I hope they can.”

 

* * * *

Adam could feel the Earth shake beneath him as gunfire echoed above. His wheelchair slightly moved at the commotion, and he sighed as he wheeled it over to the desk of concerned people.

“The galra are attacking the Garrison again.” He heard a voice say over the communicator sitting on the table.

“Which ships?” Adam questioned as he looked at the diagram someone had drawn of the stationary ships above their hideout and the Garrison. 

“The huge one above the Garrison.” The young man on the other side of the communicator replied. “Something's going on between them. I heard from a patrolling galra that they’re working on some sort of weapon.”

Adam itched his beard as he listened to the man. Another rumble shook the area, only it was stronger this time.

“What’s going on up there?” A worried woman questioned.

“Holy sh-” The young man began.

“Language, please.” Adam interrupted.

“You guys gotta come see this! The galra are fleeing like crazy!” 

Excitement shined through the man’s voice as he spoke. Without missing a beat, Adam began to wheel himself towards the ramp leading to the surface. Someone thankfully helped and pushed him the rest of the way there. As they walked into the warm sunlight, Adam’s jaw dropped at what was flying close to the ships. Ships in the form of Lions flew above and around the galra ships. More explosions and gunfire erupted during the fight, and in the midst of it, a large white ship began to float above the Garrison.

“What is that?” he heard the people next to him question. 

“They actually got Atlas up and running.” Adam laughed breathlessly. “I can’t believe it.”

For the first time in a long time, Adam felt himself grinning from ear to ear. He almost started laughing at the sight of the lions taking down ship by ship. He excitedly squeezed the dog tags as well. As the fight drew on, the others hiding underground came up to the surface to see the fight. There were times, they had to go back down due to close calls from the ships, but Adam stayed no matter what. As he watched Atlas hover high in the sky, he felt some sort of connection, or vibe of sorts. He wondered who was commanding it. He assumed someone like Iverson would be leading, but there was something about the quick defensive actions of the ship that made him think otherwise. They were risky, but effective, which wasn’t Iverson at all. 

The fight drew out for hours, and during it, the head leaders of the group, including Adam, began to travel through the underground tunnels towards the Garrison. As they traveled, Adam would go up to the surface to watch, and he was glad he did. As he reached the sunlit earth, he saw another strange robot fighting Voltron. From what it looked like, Volton was getting beat up badly. However, the Atlas was helping them out, but it was taking damage as well. As the other robot was beginning to attack again, the Atlas caught Adam’s eye. As if by magic, the Atlas began to shift and transform until it created a large, shining, white robot.

Adam had a big smile again and holared in celebration. He was so excited he almost jumped out of his wheelchair. The sight of the robot made his heart soar, and he knew exactly who was leading it; There was no question in Adam’s mind. A mixture of happiness and an ounce of pride filled his chest as he ecstatically wheeled himself back down to the underground tunnels. He didn’t have to watch the rest of the fight to know how it was going to end. He knew theThe paladins, the Garrison squad, and the Atlas members would be victorious. They would take care of the alien forces; him and the other leaders needed to focus on getting the survivors to the Garrison, safe and sound.

 

* * * *

 

A wave of familiarity and sorrow washed over Adam as he wheeled himself through the halls of the Garrison. The pristine shine of the hallway had faded, but it still held its glory. Conversations of reunited families and friends echoed through the white and grey halls. Adamw was relieved to be back, but he was scared beyond belief if he ran into Shiro. What would he say? Would he be able to say anything? Would Shiro even recognize him?

“Sir, may I assist you to a medial room?” A woman from the Garrison asked as she approached Adam.

“Yes, please.”

When Adam was situated in the room, various nurses and doctors check his vitals, his blood, and the remains of his thigh. At first, no one recognized him, and he had trouble convincing the staff that he was Adam. The staff scowled at him, thinking he was joking, but as he began to tell specific details about his life and the Garrison, the more they were becoming convinced. Thankfully, someone had kept his glasses in a storage unit, and once he put his glasses on, it convinced everyone. The family he had stuck with was initially shocked, but didn’t affect them greatly.

“I think you’re more of a Neil than an Adam.” Sirona remarked as she and her mother helped Adam cut his long dark hair. As they cut his hair, he worked on shortening his beard.  It had served its purpose, so it was time to cut it. Although it wasn’t super long, Adam didn’t like the way it looked. He prefered a short, manageable beard. The dye had grown out, so his beard was his usual brown color. His chocolate brown roots were also beginning to show. 

All three of them jumped at the entrance of a grey, bearded man.

“Adam! You’re alive!” He chuckled as he wrapped Adam in his arms.

“It’s good to see you, Sam.” Adam replied as he pat the scientist’s back. “I’m assuming we won?”

“Yes! Can you believe it! Shiro made Atlas transform into this beautiful robot! It was amazing!” He chirped. “Never mind that. How are you doing? What happened to you?”

“Well, a lot. It’s a long story. To make it short, I survived the crash and managed to stay with a group of survivors.” Adam sighed. He fell silent for a moment before lifting the blanket covering his legs to reveal his missing leg. He also pulled up his shirt slightly to show the burn scars along his left side and his left arm. 

“I don’t think I would have made it without them.” Adam added as he looked to Sirona and her mother. He also gave a small squeeze to the dog tags he wore.

“Well, I’m glad you’re mostly alright.” Sam replied. “I can’t imagine the things you’ve gone through.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“As for your leg, I think I’ve got something to help you out.”

 

* * * *

 

It didn’t take long for Adam to get used to his new, mechanical leg. It shocked him to see how well it moved with him and supported him well. 

“Woah! You’re so cool now!” Sirona chirped.

“I wasn’t cool before?” Adam asked, putting his hand over his heart, faking hurt.

“Well…” Sirona replied, scrunching her shoulders up and putting her hands behind her back. “You’re cool, just not  _ as _ cool as you are now.”

Her mother rolled her eyes as she and her husband watched Adam take small steps. They stood guard in case he fell. 

“Sooo….” Sirona started. “Are you going to talk to Mr. Shirogane?”

Adam almost tripped over his foot at the question.

“How do you know about him?” Adam questioned. 

“I heard Mr. Holt talk about him with you. Is he your boyfriend?” She questioned.

“Sirona, stop it.” Her mother scolded. Adam sighed and slowly walked over to her.

“We did date, but we got in a fight, and I doubt he’d want to see me again.” He said as he sat next to her on the small couch. “Besides, he’s busy leading the Garrison with Sam.”

“Did you guys love each other?” She questioned. Adam was taken aback by her question, but nodded.

“I don’t know much about love, but when mama and papa fight, they talk to each other, and they fix it.” She continued as she leaned on Adam’s arm. “So I think you guys should talk. Even as friends. I’m sure he misses you a lot.”

“You know, you’re pretty smart for an eleven year old.” Adam chuckled as he messed up her hair, which made her pout. 

“Does that mean I can join the Garrison too?” 

“If you want to. I think you’ve got enough brain and guts.”

“Ew. That’s gross Mr. Neil.” She laughed as she lightly punched his side. 

“You know what I mean.” Adam replied as he grabbed Sirona in a fake head lock. She squealed and pretended to struggle. Her parents were worried about Adam falling, but they relaxed at how well he had been balancing, and even laughed a bit themselves.   
  


Once Adam was used to slowly walking around his room, he began to walk through the hallways. He stayed close to the wall as he watched various Garrison officers, commanders, and cadets pace walk by. Some stopped by and gave him a hug, and others chatted with him. Many of his students came up to him, and he couldn’t be happier to see that almost all of them were doing well. One day, a student, now older and muscular, passed by him. 

“Keith?” He questioned, and the student whipped around quickly.

“Adam? Quiznack, I barely recognize you!” He laughed as Adam squeezed his shoulder. 

“I would say the same thing. You really grew out a mullet?” 

“Hey, I like it.”

Both of them laughed as Adam patted Keith’s back. Keith opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it shut at the sight of Adam’s new leg.

“What happened?” He questioned, his voice growing serious.

“Infection,” Adam replied. “But this leg works ten times better than mine, so I’m not complaining.”

“Shiro lost a limb too.” 

Adam’s cheerful expression fell. 

“Don’t worry, he’s doing alright.” Keith reassured.

“So how’s being a paladin? What are the lions like?” Adam asked, switching subjects. 

“It’s alright.” 

Another pause of silence fell over them.

“You know, he missed you, a lot.” Keith added. Adam shook his head in response.

“I doubt it.” Adam mumbled as he continued to walk, but he was halted by the hand on his shoulder. Keith squeezed Adam’s shoulder, then walked away. Keith wasn’t a big talker, but Adam understood what he meant by the squeeze.

Adam continued to walk back and forth in the fairly small hallway for the rest of the day. He never realized how much he had missed walking until he got his new leg. As he continued down the empty hallway, he heard footsteps approaching. Normally it wouldn’t startle him, but the sun was almost behind the horizon, and everybody was at dinner by now. Adam was at the opposite end of the hallway, and he began to turn around to avoid talking. Even though he wanted to walk though that hallway, his want to stay alone overpowered it. As he began to slowly walk back towards his room, he heard the footsteps stop.

“Adam?” He heard a familiar voice question. Their voice crackled greatly, but it didn’t sound like they cared. Adam turned himself around to see a tall, handsome man with beautiful white hair and a floating metal arm. Adam’s heart sank but fluttered with excitement. All of the worries in his head began to melt away the more he looked at Shiro. As if on autopilot, Adam began to walk quickly to him, and Shiro nearly sprinted to get to him. Tears were already falling from their eyes as they ran into each other’s arms. Adam wrapped his arms tightly around Shiro and buried his face in his shoulder. 

“You listened.” Shiro choked out. “You’re alive. You’re  _ alive _ .”

“You’re one to talk.” Adam huffed in his shoulder. “We thought you died too.”

Shiro only responded by pulling Adam closer. Neither of them cared if they’re hug was too tight; they were just happy to be in each others arms. Adam didn’t care who listened to him sob. He kept all his emotions close to his heart, and now they spilled out like he had released a dam. 

“You’re here. You’re actually here.” Adam said between sobs. “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I should have never said those things. I-”

“Don’t worry about it. We can talk about it later.” Shiro shushed as he ran his human hand through Adam’s dark hair. After spending a while in each other’s arms, both Shiro and Adam pulled apart to see one another's tear stained face. 

“Wow, you’re hair.” Adam exclaimed as he barely brushed it, like it was some sort of priceless antique. 

“Look at your hair!” Shio laughed as he messed Adam’s new haircut up. “I gotta be honest, it looks really nice.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Adam remarked as he gazed into Shiro’s dark grey eyes. 

“I don’t know about the beard, though.” Shiro added as he gently brushed his fingers along Adam’s jawline. 

“I think it suits me.” 

“It’s too prickly.” 

Adam rolled his eyes and smiled. Shiro’s hand never fell from his face, and he slightly leaned his head on it. Their eyes stayed locked on one another's, and Adam read Shiro’s eyes. He knew he had been through hell too, far worse than Adam could think of, but he still stayed true to himself, and preserved with his great leadership. Adam slowly brought his hand up and gently brushed Shiro’s scar. 

“I see you lost a limb too.” Adam joked weakly. Shiro took a small step backwards to examine Adam’s leg. His gaze shifted to Adam’s arm, which was covered with light-colored scars. More tears began to fill up Shiro’s eyes, and Adam moved his head to look back at him. As one tear fell from Shiro’s eyes, Adam brushed them away with his thumb. He left his hand on Shiro’s cheek, and Shiro slightly grinned as he gazed into Adam’s eyes. 

The two had gotten closer to one another, and Adam began to lean in, but stopped himself. Shiro, however, saw the small movement and slowly closed the gap between them. Their kiss began soft and gentle,but slowly developed into a deep one. Shiro’s arms wrapped around Adam again and Adam lightly held Shiro’s face.Both of them spilled more tears again. Although their kisses had grown rough, it never escalated to anything more. They wanted to be close to one another as much as they could, and to try to memorize each other in case of another disaster. In case they lost one another again. 

“I still love you.” Shiro said breathlessly as they parted. “Despite what happened and what we did, that never changed.”

“I love you too.” Adam replied as he gave Shiro another peck on the lips. “I thought you’d hate me after what I said and did.”

“I could never hate you.” Shiro chuckled as he pushed Adam’s dark hair out of the way to kiss his forehead. 

After holding one another in their arms for a while, Adam felt his legs begin to grow weak. He tried shifting his weight from leg to leg, but he was still getting used to his new leg and couldn’t put too much weight on it. Shiro picked up on Adam’s discomfort and began helping him walk back towards Adam’s room. 

“You should definitely shave. I felt like I was kissing a cactus.” Shiro joked as they got to the room.

“Well now that you said it, I’m definitely keeping it.” Adam laughed. As Adam got situated in his propped up hospital bed, he scooted over and patted the empty spot next to him. Shiro compiled and sat next to him. Both of them leaned on one another as Adam covered Shiro with the blanket he had.

“You should get some rest.” Shiro stated.

“I’m not tired.” Adam lied, and Shiro rolled his eyes.

“Want to hear some space stories?” Shiro questioned as he intertwined his left hand with Adam’s right hand.

“I’d love that.”

  
  



End file.
